A pair of northeast Iowa communities have made the top 20 list of Iowa’s Safest Cities.
In a report compiled by the home security company, Safewise, Decorah ranks as the third safest city in Iowa while Charles City is rated 17th. Safewise says they calculated crime rates for every city in the state that met their population threshold, based on the state’s median population as calculated using FBI data.
With the rankings factoring in violent crime and property crime rates, Decorah jumped up 54 spots to rank as the state’s third safest city with decreases in both categories over the past year. The violent crime rate in Decorah in 2021 was at 1.2% and dropped to .03% in 2022. Decorah’s property crime rate went from 9.8% in 2021 down to 5.6% in 2022.
Based on the Safewise data, Charles City saw increases in both categories as they slipped from seventh safest city last year to 17th this year. The violent crime rate in Charles City in 2021 was at 1.1% and went up to 2.8% in 2022. Charles City’s property crime rate went from 9.7% in 2021 up to 10.3% in 2022.
For the second year in a row, Sioux Center was rated as Iowa’s safest city. Independence made its top 20 debut as the state’s 18th safest city.
*You can view the complete report here
